"My Zombie Hamster" Review

A laugh-out-loud funny
middle-grade debut with a scary twist, "My Zombie Hamster" will appeal
to readers who like their animal stories mixed with chills. Fans of R.L.
Stine's Goosebumps Most Wanted series will grab this one right up. Matt
Hunter and his buddies are looking forward to Christmas--actually,
they're looking forward to receiving the latest sword-and-fantasy video
game. But Matt's parents have other thoughts--they give him a fluffy
little mammal, a hamster called Snuffles, for the holiday. And his
grandmother makes it worse by giving him a hamster cage and wheel. But
the hamster isn't all that cute--at least not after part of its cheek
and belly fall right off--without bothering it a bit! And why is it
staring at Matt with black beady eyes and a lean and hungry look? Say hello to Anti-Snuffles, the zombie hamster! Or better yet, run! This series combines middle-school readers' passions: humor, animals, and scary stories, into one unbeatable package.

My Review:

This book is seriously adorable. I was chuckling the entire time I read this one. I loved the author's style of humor, it was so witty, and he has a knack for making every day observances so funny! The author sets up a world where zombies live with humans that is believable and easy to understand. The characters are great as well, but I think the real stand out element of this book is the humor.

Matt is a great lead, he's a real kid who most young readers should be able to relate to. I love his best friend, Charlie, who is one tough little girl!Anti-Snuffles himself is hilarious. He really doesn't have a huge number of appearances in the book, so when you do get to see him and his antics, they are so fun to read about.

The book does take a turn that I didn't expect, which turns out to be a great plot element. It really ends up being the heart of the story, and you learn a valuable lesson as well.